Watching the World
Catholic Paper Commends Jehovah’s Witnesses
● Il Messaggero di Sant’Antonio, an Italian periodical published by the Catholic basilica of Sant’Antonio of Padua, said of Jehovah’s Witnesses: “The willpower, the enthusiasm, [and] the will to make of all the world ‘the Kingdom of Jehovah’ are certainly praiseworthy.” It cites the case of an ‘old woman who, prevented by age and ailments from going from door to door to give a witness about Jehovah, for two hours a day writes letters that brothers in the congregation then leave where people are not at home.’ Such devotion, it adds, “is really an example that makes one think, especially us Christians of a frail and doubting faith.”
Early Christian Baptism
● Many religions perform baptismal rites by sprinkling rather than by total immersion in water. How did early Christians do it? In the vaults of the Catholic basilica of San Lorenzo in Lucina, Italy, archaeologists recently found a round basin, coated with marble on the inside, that dates back to the second century of our Common Era, reports Il Tempo. According to scholars, the pool was used by Christians of the first centuries to baptize new believers by total immersion.
Loyalty to Church—Or State?
● “The Vatican has become increasingly concerned about what it sees as efforts by some governments to alienate Roman Catholics from loyalty to the church,” reports the International Herald Tribune of Paris. According to the report, the pope is “deeply concerned” about the status of the Roman Catholic Church in China because the “only legal worship is in churches that are controlled by what is known as the Patriotic Church, run by ordained priests who have openly rejected papal authority and reject everything that the Vatican has done since 1949.” The article mentions China, Vietnam, Czechoslovakia and Albania and quotes the pope as saying: “They try to create a church cut off from the Apostolic See . . . making them believe that they can continue to practice their faith in full independence.”
Spain’s Nonpracticing Catholics
● Although there is religious freedom in Spain, only a minority attend church. Spain’s El País reports that, while 95 percent of Spain’s population has received Catholic baptism, a study based on 1982 statistics shows that only 32.5 percent really practice their religion and that Sunday Mass attendance is on the decline.
Prostitute’s “Rights”
● In these days when all types of groups are demanding their “rights,” a Canadian group called Friends of Jezebel is fighting to legalize prostitution. Claiming they are the most oppressed minority in Canada, reports The Toronto Star, they say that they will ‘fight for their rights under the Canadian Constitution to make prostitution a legitimate business enterprise.’ “We are the social lepers of the 1980s,” said its organizer, a prostitute. “We want society to recognize a prostitute as a person, rather than so much debris standing on the street.”
Animal Rites
● Pet funerals are performed daily at Jikkein, a Zen Buddhist temple in a Tokyo suburb. According to New Zealand’s Auckland Star, the animal rites “begin with bells to seek the presence of Buddha and a shaven-headed priest chanting the sutras. Another soul, that of a silky white pekinese dog, has begun the long road to nirvana.” The chief priest said: “In Buddhism all living things are capable of achieving Buddhahood. Our rites for animals are identical to those for humans.” The temple cremates about ten thousand animals every year and simple rites are performed for every group. Pet funerals are a sideline “for the money.” Special lockers may be obtained by paying additional money. One woman decided against a more expensive eye-level locker “because she didn’t want her dog to be next to a cat.”
Starving Refugees
● “Zimbabwean officials say about 100,000 Mozambicans, many of them starving, have inundated Zimbabwe’s northern and eastern border areas in the last few months,” reports The New York Times. Southern Africa’s severe drought and violence by rebels are causes of the influx, it adds. Malnutrition results in distended bellies, reddish hair, which is a sign of protein deficiency, and blindness from lack of vitamin A. It is claimed that five to seven deaths occur each day in Mukosa. One refugee family walked 75 miles (120 km) and, describing the conditions, said: “In village after village people wanted to come with us but they were too weak. If we didn’t leave we would just die there.”
Tobacco Hazard
● Another hazard of tobacco smoking has made the news—its cost. Don Shaughnessy, computer-science authority, calculates that if a person quit smoking a pack a day and faithfully put the money saved into a bank account with compound interest, in 40 years his bank account would have $282,707.83 (U.S.) in it. Added to this, he says, “life insurance is at least 50 per cent cheaper for non-smokers.”
‘Poor Man’s Taxi’
● In Jakarta, Indonesia, the becak, or pedicab, is called the poor man’s taxi. But its service is coming to an end there because “city hall insists they are a menace in Jakarta’s chaotic traffic and do not fit the city’s modern image,” reports The New York Times of February 26, 1984. The becak graveyard already has thousands of confiscated pedicabs and about 16,000 will be confiscated in the next phase of operation, but 8,000 legal ones will have permits to operate for the rest of this year. In favor of the leisurely becaks is the fact that they are quiet, cheap, easily maintained and do not pollute. Their being discontinued presents an economic problem for the tens of thousands of drivers and their families who have depended on them for their livelihood. The becaks will be replaced by the bajaj, a motorized, three-wheeled scooter-cab that is still cheaper than a taxi.
TV and Drivers
● “What young drivers learn from TV could be a fatal lesson,” says Motorland Magazine. Some TV shows feature high-speed chases and exciting crashes “in which the hero walks away unharmed.” The report also adds: “The facts are not so entertaining” when one considers that auto accidents are the Number One killer of teens in the United States. “Speeding and recklessness claim many victims each day.”
Pet Hazards
● JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) says that household pets may be “hazardous to health” unless precautions are observed. “Animal bites, scratches, flea ingestion, and mere face-to-face cuddling can result in infection and even death,” says the report. One woman contracted plague pneumonia from her ailing cat and died. A ten-year-old girl was infected by a scratch wound from her cat, which, apparently, was infected by contact with diseased wild rodents or their fleas. Tapeworm infestation can come from dogs. Therefore, be cautious, warns JAMA.
World Drinking Problem
● “The world has a drink problem,” says The Sun of Melbourne, Australia. Global production of beer has risen 124 percent in the last 20 years, spirits over 60 percent, and wine 20 percent. Additionally, alcohol production is up 500 percent in Asia in the past 20 years, 400 percent in Africa, and 200 percent in Latin America.
● In Russia, a Soviet police chief says, “the little ray of sunshine in the stomach” leads to “65 per cent of murders, 71 per cent of assaults, 63 per cent of rapes, 90 per cent of hooliganism and 53 per cent of rail deaths, plus one-quarter of all road accidents.”
● The report says that the higher living standard in the industrialized countries makes it possible to afford drink, and when recession and unemployment come, many turn to drinking. The bad results are: cirrhosis of the liver, psychotic conditions, fatal road accidents and crime.
● In England “alcohol is now the largest single factor in drownings,” says the Yorkshire Post. It says that one quarter of the reported 516 accidental drownings in Britain during 1982 were alcohol related.
Blood Transfusion Risks
● Pathologist Ira Shulman of Los Angeles County—USC Medical Center says, “Transmitting malaria through a blood transfusion is rare,” yet in 1982 nine cases were reported. Blood donors from malarious areas can pass along the disease. Dr. Byron Myhre states that blood banks rely on volunteers, and despite doing the best they can, “there’s always the danger of hepatitis, malaria, and infections of various kinds. Every time blood is prescribed, there’s some possibility it can produce disease.”
Frog News
● A frog that incubates its eggs in its stomach, thought to be extinct, “is refound,” 750 miles (1,200 km) north of Brisbane, Australia, reports the International Herald Tribune of Paris. The frog has been of scientific interest because its eggs, incubated in its stomach, are “apparently unharmed by digestive juices,” says the report. Scientists conclude that “something must inhibit the destructive effect of the hydrochloric acid and other enzymes in the frog’s digestive system,” and that such could be valuable in the treatment of human ulcers.
Hypnosis Reliable?
● “Hypnosis is used routinely by both lawyers and law enforcers to jog the memory of witnesses. But new research indicates that it may hurt more than it helps,” reports Science Digest. When asked to recall 60 drawings of common objects, hypnotized test subjects made far more mistakes than did those who were not hypnotized. “The researchers suggest that the hypnotized mind actually manufactures memories that are nothing more than vivid figments of the imagination,” says the report.
8,000-Mile Cable
● A cable that is to connect Asia, Africa and Europe is projected. It is to have eight segments “linking Singapore to France via Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Italy,” reports the International Herald Tribune of Paris. At 8,000 miles (12,900 km), it will be one of the world’s longest submarine cables, and it has been estimated that it will cost $408 million (U.S.). Twenty-one companies signed an agreement for the project. It is scheduled to be in operation early in 1986.